Hazenberg x Billipp Chef 232mm

Collaborations between artists tend to be much more than the sum of each maker's tangible contribution, and that goes for this extraordinary project from the talented hands of Jelle Hazenberg and Andy Billipp. The idea first arose several years ago, and in the summer of 2022 the work began. It was at low tide, on a beach in Maine where an old dock had been claimed by the sea, that bladesmith Andy Billipp collected the wrought iron which would become the project's first material: the blade's cladding. Sandwiched between the storied wrought, Andy placed layers of 15n20, the carbon alloy with high nickel content visible as a lightly shaded vein above the edge, and a core of 52100, the tough, durable carbon tool steel, which forms the final edge. A forge-finished stretch, from the unique and hand-hewn integral bolster forward through the blade's flats, plays beautifully with mid-height bevels whose polished finish shows each material's nuances in lovely detail, and provide the superb, convex geometry for uncompromising performance. Thin at the edge with pronounced convexness above, and a noteworthy full distal taper along the rounded spine to a very slim, needle-like tip, are standouts in Andy's finished blade. And of course, for comfort, control, and world-class culinary style, meeting the heirloom-fit integral bolster to complete the knife's handle, is the work of Jelle Hazenberg: African Blackwood sculpted into a striking, one-of-a-kind, hand-filling piece of wooden art.